Friday, June 5, 2009

"All of a sudden, I felt a tremendous wave of fear for no reason at all. My heart was pounding, my chest hurt, and it was getting harder to breathe. I thought I was going to die."

Panic attacks usually occur suddenly and without any cause. The symptoms of panic attacks can be quite scary and can mimic many serious health issues, such as heart attacks. I can't count the number of times I rushed to the emergency room, worried that I was having a heart attack, only to find out that it was yet another panic attack.

(If you are experiencing panic attacks for the first time, I'd highly recommend getting checked out by your doctor, just to rule out anything more serious. Also, if your usual symptoms are changing, it's good to get rechecked. And obviously, if you are in serious pain or distress, call 9-1-1. Better safe than sorry!)

Here are some of the most common symptoms of Panic Attacks. I've experienced all of these (and more!) at one time or another!

Racing or rapid heart beatPalpitations or heart flutteringChest painsFeeling of not getting enough air or being smotheredStomach pain or upsetDizziness, lightheadedness, nauseaTingling or numbness in the face, hands, or extremitiesDry mouth, eyesHot flashes, sweating, chillsFeeling of unreality or dreamlike sensationsFeeling of terror or impending doomFear that one is dying or losing controlShaking, tremblingChoking sensation, lump in throat, difficulty swallowingUnsteadiness, balance difficultiesBlushing or blotches on the skinTurning paleUrgent need to urinate or defecateMuscle painInappropriate or disturbing thoughts

There are many more symptoms that have been attributed to panic attacks, but these are some of the most common.

A panic attack occurs when the body's fight or flight response is triggered. The fight or flight response is the body's primitive, inborn, automatic response that prepares the body to either fight or flee from an attack.

In our early days as cave men and women, this fight or flight response would kick in when we'd see, for example, a saber toothed tiger crouching nearby and need to escape quickly. We didn't understand then the hows and whys, we just knew that when we became afraid we were able to run more quickly to (hopefully) escape the threat. Our very lives depended on this response.

Nowadays we don't have many saber toothed tigers to worry about, but we do have modern day stressors such as a fight with our spouse, trouble at work, sick children, traffic, money problems, etc. Unfortunately, our body cannot differentiate between a true threat to our physical survival (the saber tooth tiger) or a stressor such as an argument with a spouse, so it reacts the same way, by activating the fight or flight response.

Once activated, our fight or flight response causes a surge of chemicals (adrenaline, cortisol, etc.) to be released into our bloodstream. These chemicals cause changes in our body to prepare us to either fight or to flee. Our heart rate increases to circulate blood more quickly to vital organs, respiration increases to provide increased oxygen to the rapidly circulating blood, the muscles tense in the arms and legs in order to move quickly and precisely. Our blood sugar levels increase, our eyes dilate, we begin to perspire, and our mouths become dry. Blood is diverted from such places as the stomach (where it may have been helping to digest food) and begins to pool in other areas, such as the head.

These physiological changes make us stronger and faster and oftentimes we can do things we otherwise would not have been able to do. (Ever heard the story of a mother who was able to lift a car off her child by herself?) If we have to run or fight our body uses up these chemicals in the activity. Problem is, if the threat we are fighting is rush hour traffic, there is no way for us to "burn off" these chemicals, and we experience a variety of troubling symptoms, such as a racing heart or shortness of breath.

When the symptoms begin we may become even more afraid, not knowing or understanding what is happening to us and fearing that we are having a heart attack or going insane. This fear causes the body to release even more chemicals, compounding the situation and making the symptoms last much longer than they need to.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Some people use the terms "anxiety attack" and "panic attack" interchangeably. Though similar in some ways, they are actually quite different.

We've all experienced anxiety attacks at one time or another. You're walking down the street alone at night. You begin to hear sounds and fear that someone is following you. Your heart starts racing and you pick up your step. Or you are driving down the road when all of the sudden another car runs a red light, nearly broadsiding you. Your heart starts beating rapidly, you may feel weak or dizzy and you may experience shortness of breath. These are some of the same symptoms that can occur during a panic attack, but the difference is that they are brought on by something real that has just happened to you. There is a reason for your body to have reacted as it did. This is called the body's fight or flight response.

In contrast, a panic attack is something that comes from out of the blue. One minute you are in line at the grocery store, smiling at the cute, little baby making faces at you in the cart ahead, the next minute your heart starts racing, you feel faint and short of breath, and you are convinced that you are having some sort of medical emergency. There is no real threat here to cause these symptoms. (That baby isn't going to jump out of the cart and start attacking you!) Your body and mind are causing these symptoms, and they have nothing to do with any real threat.

Sometimes the lines between anxiety attacks or panic attacks are not that clear. People who have a form of anxiety called Generalized Anxiety Disorder, a constant state of worry and anxiety, can start having panic attacks out of the blue. Those with Panic Disorder can start having what is called anticipatory anxiety, which is when you begin worrying that you will have another anxiety or a panic attack if you go someplace where you have experienced an attack before. Giving into this fear is what causes Agoraphobia to develop, and soon you begin fearing and avoiding more and more places, until your world becomes quite small.